Folding show-rack.



No. 638,417. Patented'n ac. .5, I899.

R. A. MILLER, 18.

FOLDING SHOW RACK.

(Application filed Feb. 25, 1899.)

(No Model.)

Nr'rnn REINHOLD A. MILLER, JR, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

FOLDING SHOW-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 638,417, dated December 5, 1899. Application filed February 25,1899. Serial No. 706,901. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, REINHOLD A. MILLER, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Show- Racks, of which the following is a'specification.

This invention relates to improvements in racks or stands for displaying merchandise, and has special reference to racks for displaying shirts and articles which are done up in similarly sized and shaped pieces, the object of the invention being to produce a rack which will display a number of articles at once, but will separate them in a manner to permit the withdrawal of any one of the articles without disturbing the rest, to enable a sufficient portion of each article of the whole series to be seen to enable comparisons and selections to be made between them, and to provide a rack which when not in use can be folded up and stored in a small space.

I accomplish the objects of the invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-=- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention,showing a single shirt in one of the places adapted to receive such articles; Fig. 2, a side elevation of same; Fig. 3, a detail in vertical section of one of the uprights or posts; Fig. 4, a plan view of the rack, showing a plate which is laid on the cross-bars to keep soft goods,like neglige shirts or flannels, from sagging between the bars and to guide them into place more readily; Fig. 5, an edge View of the plate, and Fig. 6 a detail in side elevation of a modified form of post to support and separate the several pairs of crossbars.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

A are the bars upon which the goods will be placed, and these bars are crossed in pairs and hinged together at their places of crossing by the rivets or screw-bolts a. The bars cross each other midway of their lengths and have holes through them at or near each of of a plurality of pairs of crossbars, the number used being generally six, nine, or twelve, although any desired number may be used, it not being desired to limit this invention to any prescribed number of pairs of bars used. The pairs are connected by rods B, which are threaded through the openings in the ends of the bars, and they are separated from each other by the short tubes 0, which are placed upright between the ends of the pairs of bars and the rods B threaded through them. The ends of these tubes are oblique to the sides of same, in order thereby to cause the rack to lean to the rear in the manner as shown in the drawings. The rods B will have the knobs b at their lower ends to form feet on which the rack will rest and also to form a head which will keep the rods from being drawn up through the tubes and bars above, and the top ends of the rods will be screwthreaded 'and will be providedwith knobs or nuts 6, which have screw-threaded openings to receive the threaded ends of the rods, whereby the rack can be screwed together solidly and tightened up when loosened by use and wear. The articles to be displayed are placed on top of each set of cross-bars, which for stiff goods like starched shirts amply sup port the latter without obstructing the view of same. The purpose of leaning the rack to the rear is to permit of a more extended view back between and under the articles displayed.

S represents a shirt in place on the rack in Fig. 1.

In order to support flexible unstarched goods, I will use a plate E, Figs. 4 and 5, which can be laid on top of the cross-bars. To keep the plate from being drawn forward by the withdrawal of an article, the plate will have the lateral ears e e to contact with the outside of the posts, and to prevent movement in the opposite direction a tongue e will be punched down near the front of the plate. This tongue, by contacting with the bars in front, will prevent the sliding back of the plate.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the ends of the bars are bent up (or down either) at right angles and then in at right angles, thereby forming a cheap and practical substitute for the short tubes between the pairs of crossbars. In the better class of racks this construction is not as desirable, for the reason that it is not as neat and graceful in appearance as a rack using the tubes in its construction. If desired, in order to make the frame more solid and to make the lean of the rack more certain, the corner-rods may be made solid to the bottom cross-bars by brazing or otherwise.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and wish to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. A plurality of bars of equal length crossed in pairs, said pairs being in vertical series with the end of each pair projecting beyond the end of the pair below, all of said projections being in the same direction to cause the rack to lean that Way, means for holding the pairs a predetermined distance apart and for uniting the several pairs into a rack, substantially as described and specified.

2. In a show-rack, a plurality of pairs of bars placed approximately one above the other, said pairs comprising two bars one of which is crossed over the other, two or more of said bars being pivotally secured to each other at their places of crossing and said bars having holes through them near their ends, rods passing through the openings in the bars, and tubes mounted on the rods between the bars, said tubes having their ends oblique to their walls, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a rack having horizontally-laid pairs of crossed bars placed in verticalseries with the end of each pair projecting beyond the end of the pair below, all of said projections being in the same direction to cause the rack to lean, of a removable platform placed on the cross-bars to atford additional support to merchandise placed thereon, s ubstantially as described and specified.

4. The combination, with a rack having horizontally-laid pairs of crossed bars placed in vertical series with the end of each pair projecting beyond the end of the pair below, all of said projections being in the same direction to cause the rack to lean, of a removable platform placed on the cross-bars to afford additional support to merchandise placed thereon and having means to prevent longitudinal or sliding movement of the platform substantially as described and shown.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 15th day of February A. D. 1899.-

' REINHOLD A. MILLER, JR. [L. s]

Witnesses:

JOSEPH A. MINTURN, FRANK W. WoERNER. 

